by Sean Pratt | May 15, 2021 | Family Fun Films, Film Recommendations
Greetings, SBIFF Family! Embark on a new journey with us in this weekend’s Family Fun Film, “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.” Tag along with the Mitchells as a robot apocalypse put the brakes on their cross-country road trip. Join their family in...
by Sean Pratt | May 14, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “What happened, happened. It’s an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse for doing nothing.” Kudos to Christopher Nolan for being adamant about having his film “Tenet” (2020) get a theatrical release — and...
by Sean Pratt | May 12, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “What’s wrong dude?! Ain’t you never seen a sunset?!“ One of the things I’ve missed the most since our imposed hibernation of the past year set in has been visiting New York City. Because of business relating to the festival and my involvement on the...
by Sean Pratt | May 9, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “And then the good Lord went on to say, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.’” What is it about serial killer movies that has...
by Sean Pratt | May 8, 2021 | Family Fun Films, Film Recommendations
Greetings, SBIFF Family! All aboard! We’re catching a train to London for this week’s Family Fun Film, “Paddington”! After an earthquake destroys his home in the Peruvian rainforest, a young bear makes his way to England in search of a new home. Paddington finds...
by Sean Pratt | May 7, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Okay, here’s the Story. I come from the gutter. I know that. I got no education, but that’s okay. I know the street, and I’m making all the right connections. With the right woman, there’s no stopping. I could go right to the top.” I...
by Sean Pratt | May 5, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Anna Scott : “Her most famous part. Men went to bed with the dream; they didn’t like it when they would wake up with the reality. Do you feel that way?” William : “You are lovelier this morning than you have ever been.” I’ve definitely grown...
by Sean Pratt | May 2, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Look at her, a prisoner of the gutters, condemned by every syllable she utters. By right she should be taken out and hung for the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue!” One of my favorite moments in cinema can be found in George Cukor’s still...
by Sean Pratt | May 2, 2021 | Family Fun Films, Film Recommendations
Greetings, SBIFF Family! Join us for an exciting adventure this weekend with our Family Fun Film, “The Croods!” Accompany the Croods Family as they go on the journey of a lifetime after their cave is destroyed, and they find themselves exploring a spectacular...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 30, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “We haven’t hung in five years. This weekend is about us. We are here together. Today is the last day that we will ever be this young.” In 2018, I hosted a Q&A with the talent for George Tillman Jr.’s “The Hate U Give” at the Riviera Theatre. One...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 28, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “What I see nobody else sees. It frightens me.” I have always found comfort in the work of great filmmakers, journeying through their vision as it unfolds in front of my eyes. For me, there’s a vicarious aspect to this because I’ve never longed to...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 25, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Thousands of years ago, Orpheus was sad and melancholic, like this little bird trapped in its cage. But one day, from the strings of his guitar that sought only one true love, a voice spoke to him of lost kisses from the lips of Eurydice.” “Black...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 24, 2021 | Family Fun Films, Film Recommendations
Greetings, SBIFF Family! Join us for this weekend’s Family Fun Film, “Rio” as Blu, a flightless macaw and the last of his kind, discovers there’s another, and that she’s a “she,” leading him on an adventure to the city of Rio....
by Sean Pratt | Apr 23, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Mel: “You got a lot of nerve. You come in here, you lick my wife’s armpit. You know… I’m going to have that image in my head for the rest of my life with your tongue in there.” Yes, there’s a famous armpit licking scene in David O....
by Sean Pratt | Apr 21, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Patricia: “Listen. The last sentence is beautiful. ‘Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.’ Which would you choose?” Michel: “…Grief’s stupid, l’d choose nothing. It’s not better, but grief’s a compromise. l want...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 18, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “All my life, I’ve stayed at parties too long because I didn’t know when to go.” In David Lean’s “Summertime” (1955), there’s a moment that captures for those who’ve been there, and for those who haven’t yet experienced it, the exhilaration of the...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 16, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?” Paul Brickman’s “Risky Business” (1983) plays as well today as it did the first time I saw it. Even better. When it...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 14, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “You must have heard surely of movie magic. You should be a stunt man, who is an actor, who is a character in a movie, who is an enemy soldier. Who’ll look for you amongst all those? People like to believe in things, and policemen are just...
by Sean Pratt | Apr 5, 2021 | General
A gorgeous coffee table showpiece, our book CINEMA IN FLUX was created as a fundraiser for SBIFF,a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization. On March 16, 2020, we were told we were going into lockdown. That first day, reeling, disbelieving, I quickly...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 31, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I’m always struck by the bent figures in the valley.” The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival is here. The idea of cancelling never crossed my mind. Delaying until today (our dates are usually late January) gave us a chance to succeed with...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 30, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “This is no job for you. You’re always by yourself. You see a film 100 times. You’ve nothing else to do. You talk to Greta Garbo and Tyrone Power like an idiot. You work like a dog. Even holidays, Easter, Christmas.” Alfredo, the...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 29, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Anthony: “You’re abandoning me. What’s going to become of me?” Seeing the spellbinding and heartbreaking “The Father” (2020), which just received six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, reminded me of a well-known film by Stanley Kubrick. In...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 28, 2021 | General
We are excited to announce the winner of the 2021 SBIFF Audience Choice Award, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Independent, is Jeff Harasimowicz’s ALASKAN NETS Statement from Jeff Harasimowicz (ALASKAN NETS) To say we are thrilled to win the audience choice award would...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 28, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I cry a lot too. I’m a big crier…I cry all the time. Any little thing. All my brothers, my brothers-in-law – they’re – they’re always telling me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don’t get to be good-hearted...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 27, 2021 | Family Fun Films, Film Recommendations
Greetings, SBIFF Family! “Every moment we have is a chance at something new.” – Gobi In this weekend’s Family Fun Film, “Over the Moon,” watch as Fei Fei begins her quest to fly herself to the moon find the legendary moon goddess, Chang’e. Check out the activity guide...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 26, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Mrs. Pretty: “We die, and we decay and we don’t live on.” Basil: “We’re part of something continuous, so we don’t really die.” We’re in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk County in 1939, and what we’re about to see is based on a true story. Basil Brown (Ralph...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 25, 2021 | General
by Sean Pratt | Mar 24, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “A lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize we’re very similar in a lot of ways.” When the Oscar nominations were announced for Best Documentary, “My Octopus Teacher” (2020)...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 24, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “There are certain questions I can’t answer.” I tell my students to look out for figurative comparisons that help the filmmaker navigate deeper themes and ideas. Once uncovered, these ‘visual aids” help the viewer arrive at a greater appreciation of...
by Sean Pratt | Mar 23, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “You will be sent to a home of our choosing.” Although it came out in October, I had not gotten around to writing about “His House” (2020). Two weeks ago, when the British Academy of Film Television and Arts (BAFTA) announced its influential list of...
